Delhi Capitals look like the most balanced team this season in WPL, at least on paper. Before the tournament started, experts were already predicting them to reach another final and maybe even go all the way this time. But four games in, their journey has been all over the place. Two wins, two losses, but what’s concerning is how those defeats came. Both were heavy losses, and in both cases, the batting completely fell apart. Another common factor? They ended up on the receiving end of two brutal knocks first from Smriti Mandhana and then from Chinelle Henry.
The loss against UP Warriorz will hurt more, especially since DC were in control before Henry went berserk with a record-breaking fifty. She had already given a glimpse of what she could do in the reverse fixture, and this time, she single-handedly took DC out of the game. Meg Lanning’s team is still in a strong position to qualify for the eliminator and maybe even sneak into the final directly, but the inconsistency is something they really need to fix. Even their two wins were last-over finishes where luck played a part.
Despite all this, DC have the squad to bounce back. The same can’t be said for Gujarat Giants. They’ve lost two out of three games so far, and if they want to reach the knockouts, they need to turn things around fast. The problem for GG has been simple their batters just haven’t fired. Ash Gardner has had a brilliant start as captain, but she’s been fighting a lone battle. Beth Mooney and Laura Wolvaardt have barely made an impact, and while the domestic players have tried, it just hasn’t worked.
The biggest issue for GG is that they don’t have the depth that DC do. Once again, it looks like their batting unit is lacking firepower. Apart from one or two tweaks, there’s not much the management can change. That said, Gujarat does have individual match-winners, and they will be hoping that the experienced players find form before it’s too late. From the outside, this looks like a match that DC should win comfortably, but GG have the potential to pull off an upset.
When: Delhi Capitals vs Gujarat Giants, February 25 at 7.30 PM
Where: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
What to expect: The pitches in Bengaluru have been quite different from those in Vadodara. Batters have still found it comfortable, but bowlers have also had enough assistance across all phases. Expect something similar again, with scores around 160 being a par total.
Team news
Delhi Capitals
Their performances have been up and down, but DC probably won’t make too many changes. With spin playing a role in Bengaluru, Radha Yadav could return to the XI, likely replacing Niki Prasad. Another option is to strengthen the batting by bringing back Alice Capsey in place of Jess Jonassen.
Probable XI: Shafali Verma, Meg Lanning (c), Jemimah Rodrigues, Annabel Sutherland, Marizanne Kapp, Jess Jonassen/Alice Capsey, Sarah Bryce (wk), Radha Yadav/Niki Prasad, Shikha Pandey, Arundhati Reddy, Minnu Mani.
Gujarat Giants
GG will definitely make changes, but they have some tough calls to take. Phoebe Litchfield is expected to return after surprisingly being benched despite dominating international cricket this season. Laura Wolvaardt might be the one to make way, as the other overseas picks seem undroppable. Sayali Satghare could also be replaced by either Meghna Singh or Mannat Kashyap.
Probable XI: Beth Mooney (wk), Laura Wolvaardt/Phoebe Litchfield, Dayalan Hemalatha, Ashleigh Gardner (c), Deandra Dottin, Harleen Deol, Simran Shaikh, Tanuja Kanwar, Meghna Singh/Sayali Satghare, Kashvee Gautam, Priya Mishra.
